Hello Fresh Food Delivery Service
HelloFresh Logo
Figure 1: Hello Fresh Box
HelloFresh is a food delivery service that I started using in June of 2017. There are many options to choose from if you are looking for healthy meals delivered to your home. I have counted no fewer than eight and as many as 10-12 that deliver to most if not all of the United States. To find out more about meal delivery, you do not have to stray far online and you will see an ad for one of their services. That is how I found out about HelloFresh. A friend posted a link on Facebook about their experience so I decided to give them a try. I did my diligence and found an ad on Facebook for a coupon or discount. If you search long enough, you will find a discount code. They will usually give you $30 off your first box.
So let us talk more about HelloFresh. HelloFresh is the product of two friends, Dominik and Thomas. The idea behind for HelloFresh is to make healthy cooking convenient for people who have less time to prepare and enjoy quality food. They deliver fresh, handpicked ingredients while avoiding high costs that a growing number of people in urban communities and now unable to afford. The founders developed the company with their passion for food and a business concept that allows customers the opportunity to enjoy the kind of cooking they are missing because of their busy lifestyles.
HelloFresh does not support as many dietary choices as Sun Basket, but you do get to choose from Classic, Veggie or Family recipes. It is not the best plan for low-carb, paleo, or gluten-free, but there is enough variation in the recipes for me to always find three that I would eat. I have ordered a total of 15 boxes and I have never had an issue with customer service or the quality of the products. Depending on the week, I would rate this as the number 1 or two services that deliver food and recipes to your home. They do a fantastic job of doing all the parts of meal preparation that I hate: planning, shopping, and measurement. The HelloFresh box arrives on my doorstep with all of this completed on arrival. All I have to do is follow the recipes to prepare amazing home-cooked meals.
I decided to try Hello Fresh after trying several other services and receiving a coupon for a discount on a box of their food. I ordered my first box in July and have now ordered fifteen total boxes. I remain a customer and will probably continue for the foreseeable future. This article is an honest review of the HelloFresh meals and delivery. I have not received any payment from them outside of the discount on my first box that they give every new customer.
Summary of my review |
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| Quality Of Ingredients |  |
| Organization of Ingredients |  |
| Price / Value | |
| Ease of Cooking | |
| Recipe Selection | |
| Taste / Deliciousness | |
| Nutrition: | |
| Website | |
| Packaging | |
| Shipping | |
| Customer Service | |
| Overall Rating |  |
Pros
- Simplicity – When learning to cook, it is essential that the recipes come with the food and they are detailed so you can learn to cook. The recipes are easy to understand and follow as you learn to cook. These meals come all ready to go and no shopping trips are required.
- Less meal planning – You will be able to reduce planning by letting HelloFresh do it for you.
- Less shopping – Less shopping is my favorite thing about HelloFresh and meal delivery services in general. I have the meals shipped to me so I can avoid most of the grocery stores. I buy only a few essential items and water. Out in less than 30 minutes.
- Health and Nutrition of the Recipes – HelloFresh uses only whole foods with minimal processing. The recipes do not require added salt. They were often low fat. The recipes are full of whole grains and vegetable sides. You will be hard-pressed to find a more healthy meal service. Each box comes with a nutrition information card.
- Organized Ingredients – Each meal, except the meat, is in a separate paper bag. This method is convenient but is not quite as good as the ziplock method of Home Chef, but the ingredients are well organized.
- Portion control and less food waste – Portion sizes of vegetables and seasoning lead to less waste and better portion control. Portion control will lead to weight loss if you do not snack between meals.
- Recipe Variety – The recipe options are perfect for all except paleo, low-carb, and gluten-free. Sun Basket has Vegetarian, and Family-friendly options available. Most of the recipes are of moderate to low-calorie content for those who want to lose weight.
- Quick to make – HelloFresh recipes are all made in 30 minutes or less.
- Smaller ice packs – The ice packs are the perfect size to reuse.
- Nutritional Information – The nutritional information is readily available online and on the recipe card in each box.
- Website – HelloFresh has an easy website to use and you can cancel and skip weeks online.
- Mobile app – HelloFresh has a mobile app that is easy to use.
Cons
- Recipe selection is limiting – Less variety than some of the other services, I was always able to pick 3.
- Portion sizes are small – If you are trying to lose weight, they might be ideal for some people who are active and require more calories. I found this ideal for my weight loss plans.
- Cost – The cost per meal is a bit on the higher side high.
Packaging: Unboxing HelloFresh
Figure 2: HelloFresh Box Contents
When I opened my first box of HelloFresh, the most impressive thing was the insulated packing and the quality of the ingredients. HelloFresh is superior to Blue Apron and Home Chef in many ways. A typical box is shown above in Figure 1 with the contents in Figure 2.
In the box, you will find your recipes and nutrition cards the top of the box. They are perfectly illustrated and the photos and instructions are clear. Once you fold back the insulation, you will notice that the ingredients are included in their own paper bag. Once you remove them, you will find large size ice packs with the meat in the bottom. The meat is not contained in a ziplock baggie. The meat is kept cold by two layers of ice large packs. Everything remained nice and cold during shipping as long as you get them on the day of delivery. Often, the meat remained frozen.
Quality of the Ingredients
Figure 3: HelloFresh Bag Contents
They source the best ingredients for each week’s meal baskets. The ingredients are delicious, wholesome produce, spices, poultry, seafood, and meat (see Figure 2 and 3). Usually, the ingredients looked almost as good as the contents of the photo from their website. The vegetables were rarely bruised. The meat is top-quality cuts of meat with minimal gristle and fat. The meat is often contained in a ziplock baggie to prevent liquids from meat from getting all over the box.
Organization of the Ingredients
The ingredients are well organized in paper bags (see Figure 2). The meal and ingredients are separate so avoid getting meat juice on your non-meat ingredients. I would prefer the meat in zip baggies but their method worked.
Price / Value
- For Three meals for 2: $59.94 ($9.99 per serving) for three meals, six total servings with free shipping.
Ease of Cooking
Figure 4: HelloFresh Recipe Card
HelloFresh’s recipes come printed on card stock (see figure 4). The recipes provide simple step-by-step instructions on how to make the meals. The recipes are fairly easy to follow as long as you pay attention to the directions, but there is a slight learning curve if you have never cooked before. If you are unsure of a certain step, there are YouTube videos to help if you search for them. Heck, the recipes even contain some helpful photos to guide you along.
Recipe Selection
HelloFresh’s recipes are on par with those of Home Chef or Blue Apron. I often found the recipes enjoyable and did not have difficulty picking 3 for each week.
Taste of Recipes
Figure 5: HelloFresh Nutrition Card
The recipes are simple and delicious when I could find three that met my tastes. I really liked the recipes I ordered from HelloFresh.
Nutrition
HelloFresh has done a terrific job making sure there is a good mix of protein, starches, and vegetables. They claim to have nutritionist-approved meal plans with recipes developed by award-winning Chefs. The nutritional information is easily found on the website or on the included nutrition card (Figure 5). The recipes typically have 400-600 calories, so they fit in the weight loss plan for most.
Website
The website and app are easy to use. It is easy to pick your recipes for each week and skip one if you need to leave town for a week. The best part is you can cancel your subscription online without calling.
Packaging
Figure 6: HelloFresh Inside Box
Overall, the packaging is near perfect (Figure 6). The ice packs were the perfect size to reuse. Unlike Blue Apron, the ingredients did not drift all over the box during shipping. The corrugated insulation and nearly all of the packaging are recyclable.
Shipping
I had no delays in delivery that resulted in any lost meals. The packaging was recyclable and protected the food during delivery.
Customer Service
In general, customer service was perfect. I had a terrific experience with HelloFresh. I have contacted them by email to fix one order that did not arrive on time and spoiled. They respond to emails within 24 hours during the workweek. They are polite on the phone and quickly solve all problems. They gave me credit for one ingredient that failed to arrive.
The Bottom Line
HelloFresh scored 51 out of 55 total stars for an average of 4.6 stars. I will continue to use HelloFresh. The ingredients are unsurpassed in quality and the packaging is perfect. I would recommend HelloFresh to anyone who loves to cook or wants to learn to cook but you need to be a little adventurous in your food choices. HelloFresh’s recipes could fit into your weight loss or maintenance plans if you chose wisely of adjusting the portion size. If the recipe is too calorie-rich for my plans, I divided it into quarters or thirds or quarters.
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